Hornet nests are found in the natural environment and on human property (dacha plot, attic or other secluded building areas). The size of the insect refuge is gradually increasing. The construction is laid by the female in the spring, when the air temperature warms up to +10 degrees. Initially, the nest consists of several honeycombs. Then the first generation of adults appears and the responsibilities of building a shelter, feeding and protecting the colony are transferred to them. These are working insects and their numbers increase over time.
The structure of a hornet's nest
Hornets can rightly be called real architects. The hive is created practically and thoughtfully. The nests are spherical or cone-shaped. The average size is 30 to 50 cm wide and 50 to 70 cm long. Sometimes you can find a large dwelling over 1 m. It usually weighs up to 1000 g.
The nest can be compared to a multi-story building, which has a huge number of apartments and several entrances. The rooms are honeycombs. The role of entrances is performed by compartments. There is a thin partition between the compartments.
The tiers are located in a perpendicular position. This is where the uterus moves. They are held together by several legs. One dwelling has 3 or 4 compartments. The number of tiers is from 7 to 10. The structure is neat and airy.
Hornets nest.
Brief description of hornets
The pest is distinguished by its large size (3.5-6 cm, depending on the species), bright color (black and yellow). It poses no danger to humans as long as it is far away. It is generally accepted that the hornet feels threatened if an object is closer than 50 m from the insect. For this reason, it is not recommended to approach the insect. If the shelter is located on a summer cottage or in one of the buildings, then meeting this condition is problematic.
The nest of a hornet colony is always guarded. When something threatens it, insects become more active. Being far away, at the sight of danger, the pest will prefer to fly away and will not attack. In case of direct contact, the hornet bites, causing severe pain.
At a summer cottage, the insect brings many benefits, as it destroys harmful insects that infect cultivated plants. However, if a hornet attacks a hive, the number of bees will decrease sharply.
On the left is a wasp, on the right is a hornet
How to detect a hornet's nest
Insects are not capable of causing harm to humans unless touched. They do not destroy or destroy hives located in a natural area and away from people. The hornet is an inhabitant of the wild and performs its function.
However, when settling near a person, you need to be vigilant. Such neighbors are very dangerous.
- Insect infestations pose a mortal danger to bees. This threatens the destruction of apiaries. Hornets destroy larvae and adults, and also consume honey.
- The search for the hive begins at the initial stage of formation. The founder of the home is the queen. Thanks to the queen, the first tier is laid and eggs are laid in the honeycomb.
- Timely detection guarantees easy destruction. Within a few weeks, a large number of individuals appear, which are more difficult to control.
- The hornet prefers a quiet, secluded place that is protected. Such places can be holes, barns, attics, abandoned buildings, hollows in trees.
Search organization includes:
- carrying out training. Take antiallergic medications with you. Special protective thick clothing is required;
Hornet's nest.
- the study begins with an examination of all secluded places in the house. The nest can be found in a window frame, in a wall, or under the floor. These are the most inaccessible places;
- Conducting an inspection of the entire site. They explore holes, stumps, logs, trees;
- listening - insects make a lot of noise when building a home;
- insect mark - a bright thread or ribbon is attached to the caught hornet and its further flight is monitored.
How to get rid of it
Huge hornet nest.
After finding the hive, the degree of danger is determined. When located in a corner, do not touch the nest.
But if it is in an accessible place, then it is necessary to get rid of it. This is difficult and dangerous, as the insects defend themselves aggressively.
The most effective methods of elimination include:
- treatment with insecticides;
- burning;
- pouring boiling water;
- heating.
The methods can be called cruel and risky. They are used as a last resort.
Overview of hive destruction methods
The easiest way: the shelter is destroyed in winter, when there are not a single insect inside. However, this option has a significant disadvantage - you will have to endure the presence of pests throughout the spring and summer, waiting for their natural death in the fall. In addition, the queen is unlikely to return to her original place, because she does not live longer than a year, which means that older females will begin to search for a new place for refuge. When deciding how to remove a nest in the warm season, it is recommended to consider the following methods:
Drowning
This option is suitable for cases when the shelter is in a hanging position. It is placed in a bucket. There is no need to remove the nest; you just need to place a container of water of suitable depth directly underneath it. It is important to ensure that the entire structure erected by the hornets is completely immersed in the liquid. It is better to do this at night, since insect activity decreases at this time.
If the nest is in the ground, you can pour boiling water over it. The hornets' home can be large; you will need a bucket of water.
Burning
First, the shelter is doused with a moderate amount of flammable substance (kerosene, gasoline), then set on fire. The method is suitable for situations where the nest is located on a base made of non-flammable material.
Poisoning
Use any toxic insecticide: GET, Executioner, and similar drugs. The substance is sprayed into a plastic bag and wrapped around the hornets' shelter.
Spray some plastic with insecticide (Get, Lambda Zone, Executioner) and wrap it around the nest.
If the nest is built in a depression, for example, a hollow, you can pour insecticide inside. In this case, the entrance must be closed. Shelters located in the ground are doused with boiling water.
Interesting video: Methods for destroying hornet nests
Number of individuals living in one nest
The number of insects is influenced by a comfortable location, weather conditions, and food. The number of adults in one family ranges from 400 to 600.
Optimal conditions are calm, quiet, warm places with plenty of food. In this case, the diameter of the nest exceeds 1 m and accommodates from 1000 to 2000 individuals.
Hornets nests.
Why do you need to get rid of hornets' homes?
To answer the question why it is necessary to destroy hornet nests, you should pay attention to the benefits and harms this large insect brings to humans. Undoubtedly, there is still a certain benefit from Vespa, and it consists in the fact that hornets:
- eat some harmful insects, such as flies, mosquitoes or small locusts;
- occupy holes that could become homes for rodents that cause significant harm to the farm;
- They themselves are food for some species of birds, which in return can eat more useful bumblebees and bees.
This is where the useful aspects of the life of flying corsairs, as representatives of the Vespa genus are often called popularly, end. And if you compare the benefits with the harm that hornets simultaneously cause, it immediately becomes clear why their nests located near human habitation need to be gotten rid of. The harm from these insects is more significant, and it affects both the person himself and the fruits of his activities. It consists in the fact that Vespa:
- pose a real threat to people's health, stinging them very painfully and causing dangerous allergic reactions of the body to the injected poison;
- they destroy bees, often eating out their entire families, and thereby cause material damage to beekeepers;
- They gnaw tree branches and fruits, causing damage to gardening.
Nest construction
Device
The hive is always durable and comfortable. It is not afraid of heat and cold. Insects build homes from wood and bark. Particular preference is given to birch. In this regard, the hives are lighter than those of other wasps.
Materials
The hornet thoroughly chews the wooden pieces, moistening them with saliva. The resulting material is the basis of honeycombs, walls, partitions, and shells.
Place
The choice of location depends on the uterus. It is from here that the construction of the future house begins. She prefers remote places, peace and solitude.
Process
Initially, the first ball is sculpted from the cells. Eggs are laid in the cells. After 7 days, larvae appear, which after 14 days turn into pupae. After another 14 days, young working insects leave the house and also participate in construction.
Peculiarities
Individuals are very hardworking and disciplined. Their self-organization is at a very high level. More productive work of young hornets affects the number of individuals. When the worker insects leave the hive, eggs are laid.
Appearance of hornets and the danger of their bites
Hornets are insects that are very similar in appearance to wasps, but have some differences: a larger body size, a brown abdomen. They are useful predators because they feed on various garden pests and their larvae. They also love sweet nectar, vegetable juices of fruits and honey. There are more than 20 species of hornets in the world, many of which are listed in the Red Book.
If large yellow-black wasps often fly into a room, it means that hornets have built their nest nearby.
It is completely optional to kill individual individuals: they cannot be frightened or waved at them. It is better to wait until such a “wasp” lands and catch it by covering it with a glass jar. Then take it away and release it into fresh air.
However, you should be aware that having a colony settled nearby can cause a lot of problems due to their ability to protect their home and numerous bites.
The danger from hornets has several unpleasant aspects:
- when defending their home, they can attack a person and inflict numerous bites on him;
- when stinging, hornets are able to remove the sting and bite their offender several times in a row, which is more dangerous to health, since the toxicity of such poison can lead to a severe allergic reaction;
- such insects harm bees by attacking and killing them and destroying their hives.
For children, pregnant women and people with allergies, numerous hornet stings pose a great danger, as they can cause angioedema, anaphylactic shock and lead to death.
Therefore, in order to get rid of such unpleasant neighbors, you should definitely start looking for hornets in your home, and for this you need to know what the nest looks like and where to look for it.
Insects flying out of the hive
During autumn the house becomes empty. This is influenced by a number of nuances:
- after the start of swarming, males die very quickly;
- cold and frost kill worker hornets and the queen, and fertilized individuals move to warm places;
- in the fall, the female produces a special enzyme that prevents her from freezing in a state of suspended animation in winter;
- choose a temporary home - a hollow, a tree, an outbuilding;
- The hornet does not settle in an old nest; the construction of a new house always begins.
Prevention of hornets
At dachas, private properties, and if there are outbuildings, it is worth regularly carrying out preventive measures. The effect is achieved:
- Regular cleaning of food scraps. Hornets are attracted to such smells. Waste storage is recommended in polyethylene waste.
- If abandoned nests, birdhouses, or holes in trees are found: they should be removed from the site.
- It is mandatory to carry out repair work on housing and sheds.
- Hang traps in early spring.
Need to know! A new method for eliminating hornets: using a vacuum cleaner. The hose is placed in the main hole of the hive and sucks in the insects. The only negative: you have to wait a long time for the pests to die in the dust bag.
Destroying uninvited guests is a difficult task. The best way is to invite specialists. But you can also remove the threat yourself if you approach the task responsibly.
How to find a hornet's home?
If you observe them in large numbers, then the home of these insects is very close. The best option to find him would be to follow the uninvited guest, because, having caught prey, he will definitely fly to his nest. But this may not happen right away, and during the flight of the hornet you can lose sight of it.
To make your search easier, you need to resort to tricks, taking special care. To do this you need:
- shoot down a hornet in mid-flight with a tennis or badminton racket;
- wearing thick gloves, take the insect and tie a thick light thread to its body, clearly visible against the background of greenery and other vegetation;
- throw the hornet to the ground, quickly moving away to a safe distance;
- follow the flying insect, which will now immediately fly to the nest.
Having discovered a hornet's home, there is no need to rush to get rid of it. Careful consideration should be given to how and when best to do this. Until then, it is undesirable to approach the nest so as not to cause aggression from its inhabitants. After all, these creatures carefully guard their home and rush to its defense with rage.
